05/02/08 Immigration, part two

If there's one issue that the National Milk Producers Federation would like to see resolved its immigration reform. Chris Galen says not only dairies but all ag producers have the constant worry of having enough labor. GALEN "We have hopes, I think they're slim hopes but we still have hopes that Congress will do something in 2008. Senator Craig's Ag Jobs legislation, its an uphill battle but I think that if cooler heads prevail I think we can do something on it." Galen says that raids by federal immigration officials have put a crimp in the labor force. Even though the issue is still in court there's also the possibility of no-match letters being sent out to employers in the future. GALEN "To make certain that we have a work force to do these jobs that no one else really wants to do because our message to Congress has been if you don't have a work force for the meat packing plants, for the restaurants and all the other livestock and fruit and vegetable operations those businesses are going to go overseas and they're not coming back. And as we're heading into a recession as we're concerned about foreigners taking jobs we ought to be concerned about keeping the jobs we have now here rather than having the livestock business go offshore." He says agriculture needs a workforce 'fix' and a short term, temporary solution is better than no action at all. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott